Metabolism, what is it?

Metabolism is the sum of all the chemical reactions that take place in your body which serve to keep you alive. This includes things like breathing, moving your muscles, digesting your food, making hormones, and so on. All these things require energy which we choose to measure in terms of calories. ⁣⁣⁠⁠
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If we are constantly using energy to fuel those chemical reactions, then we must also consume energy to keep that system going. In other words, you must eat food in order to keep “fueling the fire” so to speak.⁣⁣⁠⁠
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To simplify all of this, we in the fitness industry boil this whole concept down into Calories In vs. Calories Out (CICO). By matching the number of calories you burn with the number of calories you consume, you balance the scale and keep your metabolism running smoothly. ⁣⁣⁠⁠
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However, CICO is not simply a matter of how much you eat vs. how much you exercise. There is so much more that influences the interplay between CI and CO. Unfortunately, most people don’t have the background in biology or physiology to know this to be the case.⁣⁣⁠⁠
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Yes, ultimately, the number of calories you consume (food intake) is what determines the “calories in” side of the equation. But, there are a ton of factors that influence the number of calories you consume that we cannot overlook. ⁣⁣⁠⁠
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And calories out is not simply a matter of how much you exercise. There are many other factors that cause your body to expend energy that you may not be aware of. ⁣⁣⁠⁠
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Keep in mind that the second slide doesn’t even encompass everything that influences metabolism but it does do a good job of illustrating that CICO is not quite as simple as you may think. ⁣⁣⁠⁠
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